Car-guard



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GAR GUARD Patented June 11, 1895.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Shet 4. G. A. BARRETT, GAR GUARD No. 540,894.Patented June 11, 1895 1 describe and claim.

Urtirn Erarne A-TENT Quince.

' CHARLES BARRETT, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

CAR-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 540,894, dated June 11,1895.

Application filed February 28, 1895.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. BARRETT, of Malden, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Car- Guards, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to safety appliances forstreet-cars propelled byelectricity or cables or otherwise, in contradistinction to those drawnby horses, and it has for its object to, provide improved means forreducing to the minimum the danger to life and limb caused by therunning of the car against a person on the track.

To this end the invention consists in the improvements which I will nowproceed to.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents an end elevation'of a portion of a car provided withmy improvements. Fig.2 represents a side elevation of the'same. Fig. 3represents a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a viewsimilar to Fig. 3, omitting certain parts. Fig. 5 represents a sectionon line 5 5 of Fig. 2 and a plan view of the parts below said line. Fig.6 represents a section. on line 6 6 of Fig. 2, looking toward the left.Fig. 7 represents a section on line- 7 7 of Fig. 5.

v The same letters and numerals of reference indicate the same parts inall the figures.

In the drawings, it represents a guard, which is preferably composed ofa stout wooden cross-bar 7, a metal frame 8 attached at its ends to saidcross-bar, and parallel metal rods9 9 extending from the cross-bar tothe front portion of the frame, the whole forming a basket orscoop whichis connected by hinges b with a support 0 attached to a suitable part ofthe car. Said support may be the usual pilot-board of the car, or it maybe an independent piece attached to the car. The hinged guard is locatedunder the platform, in advance of the wheels, and is arranged so thatwhen raised, as shown in Fig. 3, it is clear of the track; and whendepressed, as shown in Fig. 2, it bears upon or is in close proximity tothe track, the guard having trucks 10 adapted to run on the rails andpavement, and preferably made of rubber.

Serial No. 539,758. (No model.)

The guard is lockedin its raised position by upwardly, until the latchdrops in front of the shoulder ct and thus locks the guard in its raisedposition, as shown in Fig. 3.

Three guard releasing devices are employed, whereby the latch .may beraised to release the guard and allow it to drop upon the track, one ofsaid releasing devices being automatic and designed to be operated by anobject such as a prostrate human body on the track in advance of theguard, while the other releasing devices are designed to be operated byan attendant on the platform. The automatic device as here showncomprises a swinging cross-bar 6 (Fig. 1) having upwardly bent ends 6' ewhich are journaled in hearings in a fenderf projecting forward from theendof the car, and a rod 6 connected at its forward end to saidcross-bar and having at its rear portion a finger c (Fig. 4) whichforces the latch 01 upwardly when the arm e is moved backwardly, therear portion of the arm being supported by a fixed bracket e having anincline e which raises the rear end of the arm when the arm is pushedbackwardly, thus causing the arm to raise the latch. Aspring einterposed between a collar 6 on the arm and the bracket a normallypresses the arm and the swinging cross-bar 6 forward away from theincline e so that the arm is normally depressed below the lockingposition of ver and at the other end to the latch at, said chain passingover a pulley g journaled in fixed hearings on the car, thearrangementbeing such that when the lever is moved backwardly to the position shownin Fig. 2, the

chain is drawn forward and raises the latch out of engagement with thearm a on the guard, thus releasing the latter. A rod 9 connected withthe lower end of the hand-lever 9 and passing loosely through the guardarm a has a collar 9 bearing on the front side of said arm, said rod andcollar serving, when the hand-lever is moved forward, to raise the guardand cause the re-engagcment of the arm a with the latch. A spring g onthe rod g bearing on the rear side of the guard-arm and on a collar 9affixed to the rear end of said rod exertsaforward pressure on saidguard-arm when the hand-lever g is moved to raisethe latch, and thusfacilitates the descent of the guard after its release, said springbeing compressed by the forward movement of the rod.

The third releasing device comprises a pedal k which is movable in aguide in the car platform, and a lever 7L pivoted at h to a bracketattached to the car, one end of said lever being pivoted to the pedalwhile the other projects under the latch cl, as shown in Fig. 4, so thatwhen the pedal is depressed the rear end of the lever 7L raises thelatch and releases the guard.

I provide a device for automatically locking the guard in its depressedposition to prevent it from rebounding or rising from the track afterithas been dropped. Said locking device as here shown is a lever h pivotedat 7t to the supportingbar and having a hook k at its forward end whichis caused by aspring k to engage the cross-bar 7 of the guard when thelatter is depressed, so that the guard is looked just as it reaches itsoperative position. To enable the motor-man to release the guardpreparatory to raising it by the hand lever g, I connect the lockinglever h by a chain It with the rear end of the lever h, the arrangementbeing such that the operator by depressing the pedal. disengages thelocking lever from the guard.

The fender fwhicli supports the trip 6 is a platform, preferably ofyielding construction, projecting forward from the carat such heightabove the track as to permit said fender to pass over a prostrate humanbody without injury thereto. the fender supporting said trip at suchheight that the latter will strike and be displaced by such body andwill thereby be caused to release the guard, as above described. Thefeuderf is further constructed and arranged so that in case its forwardportion strikes a body in a standing position it will be likely to causethe body to fall backward onto the fender, and thus escape seriousinjury, the forward edge of the fender being preferably about twelveinches above the track, while the lower portion of the trip ispreferably about five inches above the track. The fender is preferablysomewhat inclined downward from its forward edge rearwardly, to moresecurely retain a person who may fall thereon.

The fender fas here shown is connected with a vertical cushion f, whichcovers the front of the usual dash-board t on the car platform, and actsas a buffer to prevent violent contact of a person caught by the fenderwith said dash-board. The cushion f is composed of a stout frameconsisting of top and bottom cross-bars 12 13, vertical end-bars 11 14.,and intermediate vertical bars 15 15 (Fig. 1), said crossbars 12 13being curved, as shown in Fig. 5, to conform to the curvature of thedashboard, and a suitable yielding filling 16 attached to the marginalportions of the frame, said filling being preferably a wire netting, thetop and bottom portions of which are connected with the cross-bars ofthe frame by springs 17. Any other suitable yielding filling maybeemployed, however, such as a sheet of canvas or a netting offibrous'material. The end-bars 14: 14: of the cushion frame are providedwith hooks 18 (Fig. 2) which are engaged with ears 19 affixed to thefixed standards 20 which support the dash-board 'i, said ears and hookssecuring the cushion and fender to the car and permitting them to bereadily detached by raising the hooks out of the ears.

The fender is com posed of a frame comprising endbars 21 21 connected tothe vertical end-bars 14 1a of the cushion frame; crossbars 22 22affixed to the end-bars 21 21; and a yielding filling 23 (Fig. 5) hereshown as composed of wire netting con nected by springs 24with theend-bars, although said filling may be of any other suitableconstruction. The front portion of the fender is preferably providedwith a yielding buffer composed of a helical spring 26 extending fromone of the side-bars 21 to the other and covered with a rubber tube 27.The various bars comprising the frames of the fender and extension arepreferably covered with sections of rubber tubing, to minimize theinjury caused by violent contact of a body with said bars.

The fender is preferably hinged to the endbars 14 of the frame of thecushion, so that it can be swung upwardly against the cushion when notrequired for use, the lower ends of said end-bars 14 being bent forwardand formed as hinge members to which the rear ends of the side-bars 21of the fender correspondingly formed are jointed, as shown in Fig. 7.Said hinge-members are formed so that the fender cannot swing downwardlybelow the position shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 7. The rod e of theautomatic guard-releasing device is jointed at 6 so that its forwardportion will swing upwardly with the fender.

The operation is as follows: Under normal conditions, the guard is heldraised, as shown in Fig. 3. When the motor-man sees a person indangerous proximity to the car, he pulls back the hand-lever g, ordepresses the pedal 71 thus releasing the guard, which drops to thetrack, its motion being accelerated by the spring g. If the motor-manfails to release the guard and the fender passes over a prostrate body,the trip is operated. The

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guard is locked,'in either case, directly upon its depression, andcannot be raised until the driver depresses the pedal;

It will be seen that the permanently raised fender f provides forcatching a standing body with little or no liability of injury, and thatthe guard adapted to be released either automatically or by handprevents a body that has not been caught by the fender fromgethorizontal direction from the cushion, so that it can readily retaina person who may fall thereon, the cushion preventing injurious contactof the person with the dasher.

I claim- 1. A safety appliance for street-cars, comprising a fenderprojecting in advance of the car and supported in a raised position,whereby it is enabled to avoid contact with the track, pass over aprostrate human body, and catch a person who may be encountered in astanding position, a hinged guard located between said fender and thewheels, a locking device or latch to hold said guard in a raisedposition, and a latch-displacing trip located below thelowest part-ofthe fender and adapted to encounter and be operatedby a body over whichthe fender has passed.

.2. A safety appliance for street-cars, com

prising a fender projecting in advance of the car and supported in araised position, whereby it is enabled to avoid contact with the track,pass over a prostrate human body, and

catch a person who may be encountered in a standing position, a hingedguard located between said fender and the wheels, a locking sition,means such as a pedal on the car plat-- form and connections betweensaid pedal and the locking lever whereby the latter may bedisplaced tounlock the guard and permit its elevation, and means such as anoperating lever on the car and connections between said lever, thelatch, and the locking arm of the guard, whereby the said lever may becaused to alternately release the guard and thus cause its depression,and raise the guard into engagement with the latch.

4. A safety appliance for street-cars, comprising a guard hinged to asupport on the car and provided with an upwardly projecting arm, anoperating lever on the car, a rod connected with said lever and passingthrough the guard-arm, said rod having a collar at the front and aspring at the rear of said arm, whereby the arm may be alternatelyforced backwardly to raise the guard and pressed forward to accelerateits downward movement, and a latch which automatically engages theguard-arm to hold the guard in a raised position. V

5. A safety appliance for street-cars, comprising a guard hinged to asupport on the car and provided with an upwardly projecting arm, a latchwhich automatically engages said arm to hold the guard in a raisedposition, an elevated fender projecting forward from the car, a swingingcross-bar below said fender, a rod connected with said cross-bar andengaged with the latch, and an inclined guide which raises the rod anddisplaces the latch when the swinging cross-bar ismovedbackwardly.

6. A safety appliance for street-cars, comprising a cushion formed tocover the front of the dasher of the car, the frame of said cushionhaving attaching devices such as the hooks 18 adapted to detachablyengage corresponding devices on the dasher, and a fender hinged orjointed to the lower end of the cushion-frame and standing substantiallyatv a right angle therewith, said fender beingsupported entirely by thelower end of the cushion-frame and being adapted to be folded againstthe cushion, the said cushion and fender being formed so that when thecushion is engaged with the car-dasher it standsvertically at the frontof the dasher, while the fender when in its operative position projectshorizontally forward from the dasher.

7. The combination with a car having cushion and fender supportingdevices such as the lugs 19, of a safety appliance comprising thecushions engaged with the car-dasher and formed to cover the front ofsaid dasher and to project below the same, said cushion having devicessuch as the books 18 for engagement with the lugs 19, the fenderhingedto the lower end of the cushion-frame and projecting horizontallyforward at a sufficient distance from the track to permit it to passover a prostrate human body, said fender being supported entirely by thelower end of the cushion-frame and adapted to swing upwardly against thecushion, a guard located behind the fender, a latch adapted to hold theguard in a raised position, and a trip located below the level of thefender and adapted to be operated by contact with an obstruction on thetrack to release the guard. V

8. A safety appliance for cars, comprising a guard hinged to asupport onthe car, a latch adapted to automatically engage said guard and hold itin a raised position, the latchdisplacing mechanism comprising the pedal71, movable in the car-platform and the lever 71! pivoted to the car andengaged at one end with the pedal and at the other end with the latch,and the guard-raising or setting mechanism comprising the lever gpivoted to the platform and the rod 9 engaged at one end with said leverand at the other end with an arm on the guard.

9. A street-car equipped with a substantially horizontal fenderprojecting in advance of the car and supported thereon in a raisedposition, whereby it is enabled to catch a standing body and pass overaprostrate body,

a movable hinged guard or scoop located between the fender and thewheels, said guard Witnesses:

O. F. BROWN, A. D. IIARnIsoN.

